The Phoenix Shot Tower, also known as the Old Baltimore Shot Tower, is a red brick shot tower

Shot tower

thumb|The Shot Tower, Bristol, EnglandA shot tower is a tower designed for the production of shot balls by freefall of molten lead, which is then caught in a water basin. The shot is used for projectiles in firearms.-Process:...

, 234.25 feet (71.4 m) tall, located near the downtown

Downtown Baltimore

Downtown Baltimore is the section of Baltimore traditionally bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the west, Mt. Royal Avenue to the north, President Street to the east and the Inner Harbor area to the south. It consists of four neighborhoods: Westside, City Centre, Inner Harbor, and...

 and Little Italy

Little Italy, Baltimore

Little Italy is a neighborhood located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.Situated just east of the Inner Harbor, it has one of the city's busiest restaurant districts. It is so named because of the large number of Italian immigrant families that moved into the area during the 20th century. The...

 areas of Baltimore, Maryland. When it was completed in 1828 it was the tallest structure in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The tower was originally known as the Phoenix Shot Tower, then the Merchants' Shot Tower, and now is called the Old Baltimore Shot Tower.